Raied's Punyaquarium Build

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by Vancity

Welcome back!

I just had the same dilemma with lighting a small tank and picked up a used AI prime and am very please with it so far. They're rated for 18"x18" spread and are controllable via an APP for Android or IOS out of the box. If you're buying new they're about the same price as the Kessil 160's. Controlling sunrise/sunset was a huge plus over the Kessil IMO
Good luck with you new build!

Thanks for your input. The thing that concerns me about AI prime is the individual lens around the LEDs and the disco effect. Do you get any disco effect with your light? Both kessil and ai seems to be of same price.

[Proteus]

Look into the kelo LEDs. They are just like kessil
http://kelolight.com/aquarium_detail...enuid=125&id=6

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by Proteus

Look into the kelo LEDs. They are just like kessil
http://kelolight.com/aquarium_detail...enuid=125&id=6

Holy molly those are complete Kessil ripoffs. I am wondering why Kessil didn't sue them yet.

Thanks for the suggestion Nick but they seem to only have 100W and that would burn any small tank :P

[mike31154]

Mr. H! You mentioned that you are now in the employ of an LED manufacturer.... asking a lot of questions on what LED light to get??? You should be the expert advising the rest of us!!

Funnin' aside, have you considered DIY? My home built multi-chip fixture is still going strong after quite a few years of use now. No lenses, no disco effect that I'm aware of... check out link below if you haven't already seen the build thread.

Same goes for skimmer, don't discount DIY & old school tech. I'm still rockin' with a wooden air diffuser powered home built that came with my used tank. Low power, quiet (dependent on air pump) and as efficient as any of the new fangled stuff out there. Granted, it is located beside the display, but I have a good drain on the cup going into a 2 liter pop bottle & a bucket just in case, although never had an overflow on the floor yet.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by mike31154

Mr. H! You mentioned that you are now in the employ of an LED manufacturer.... asking a lot of questions on what LED light to get??? You should be the expert advising the rest of us!!

Funnin' aside, have you considered DIY? My home built multi-chip fixture is still going strong after quite a few years of use now. No lenses, no disco effect that I'm aware of... check out link below if you haven't already seen the build thread.

Same goes for skimmer, don't discount DIY & old school tech. I'm still rockin' with a wooden air diffuser powered home built that came with my used tank. Low power, quiet (dependent on air pump) and as efficient as any of the new fangled stuff out there. Granted, it is located beside the display, but I have a good drain on the cup going into a 2 liter pop bottle & a bucket just in case, although never had an overflow on the floor yet.

Haha. Well that's the reason, in technical terms, kessil made more sense to me and will probably be going that way. But it is always nice to get input from people about their experience with individual fixtures and sometimes, numbers and real life experience varies. Plus I work in a completely different market which is very far away from aquarium industry

Appreciate your input. DIY would probably be easy to assemble/make since I have access to LED chips from high CRI bins and the equipment needed but getting everything sorted out will probably be more tiresome than its worth putting the effort for such a small tank. Bigger tanks: definitely worth the effort. If I can DIY, it will definitely be a great experience and now that you have mentioned, I will probably give some thoughts to it Same goes for the DIY skimmer. Thanks

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by Proteus

Look into the kelo LEDs. They are just like kessil
http://kelolight.com/aquarium_detail...enuid=125&id=6

I took a quick look at these. Can you buy these anywhere? Their website is surprisingly unhelpful in this regard as to who sells them or even their ballpark pricing. I'm guessing importing them might be an issue..

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

I took a quick look at these. Can you buy these anywhere? Their website is surprisingly unhelpful in this regard as to who sells them or even their ballpark pricing. I'm guessing importing them might be an issue..

Over other forums, people said that you can save around $100 to $150 on these compared to a360. Couldn't find anyone from Canada who carries them.

So a quick update.

Tank has been ordered. I went slighting smaller with all side starfire, polishes edges and 3 compartment AIO. For lights, I have kessil a160we on the way. For skimmer, aquamaxx ws-1; extremely overkill for the size of the tank but I wanted to make sure the tank has enough skimming power. The return pump will be an ehime compact 1000. The flow will be covered by an rw4. the stand will be a DIY (simple as last time but I will cover it with carbon fiber 3M to match it with the black silicon). For RODI, aquasafe 100GPH portable RODI.

The toughest part will probably be finding the live rocks that I need. Anyone knows where I can find branching/plating LR (actual LR)? Thanks

[Proteus]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

I took a quick look at these. Can you buy these anywhere? Their website is surprisingly unhelpful in this regard as to who sells them or even their ballpark pricing. I'm guessing importing them might be an issue..

Talk to Dave at bigshow. If he can't help you get them I can

[Etaloche]

Lots to learn here, will definitely be keeping up with your build

[mrhasan]

So I have been hitting my head all throughout the day to see whether or not I should get a controller for my tank. Here are my thoughts:

Apex:
Too darn expensive for my taste and for what I will get. A jr costs $305 with which I will need to add another $127 for VDM to be able to control the kessil. Alongside, I will have to buy an ATO separately ($130). So, for light control, temperature control and ATO, I am in $562.

Reefkeeper lite:
A basic unit will cost me $170 and the LED control unit will be $100. The ATO switch will cost me $50 and the expansion unit to connect the ATO will cost $120. So all in, its $440.

Reefangel:
This is probably the only controller that includes all the units that I need (ATO, 1-10v dimming, 8 outlets, etc.) but with the crazy conversion rate right now, the total is coming out to $550. Still a deal when considering Apex but this is too much.

For me, there are two main reasons for looking into a controller:
1. Heater control (the MOST important reason)
2. LED control (a luxury I don't need but why not!)

So I have decided to go to a very elementary approach. Here are the equipment that I will have and how they will be controlled:

1. Skimmer: it is going to be on 24-7 so I will have this connected to an outlet 24-7.
2. Pump in the return compartment: it is going to be on 24-7 too so direct connection to an outlet 24-7.
3. Wavemaker: RW-04 will be connected through a timer outlet; I don't want to rely on the night mode sensor.
4. ATO: I will be getting tunzi nano. Will be around $130 and includes pump. Thought about getting hydor but the 1cm difference between the two probes might not be great for such a small tank. The ATO will be connected to power outlet directly and for 24-7
5. Light: I will get a spectra controller ($130) for the kessil.
6. Heater: Will get a jager 50W and connect it to Jonson Tempeature controller. This is an industrial controller and not hobby grade so much more reliable. And cheap. Around $70.

So with the required controls, I am spending $330. Not getting all the fancy stuffs but I am also leaving more money in my pocket